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100 Million Americans Playing Mobile Games, New Study Reports

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A new study on mobile gaming habits in America and Europe suggests that upwards of a 100 million people are playing mobile games on their smartphones, tablets, and iPod touches.

The study published by market research firm Newzoo confirms what many had believed that mobile gaming is becoming a force to be reckoned with as games like Temple Run, Draw Something and Angry Birds all leading the charge.

According to the study the amount has grown by more than a third since last year. Europe’s figures make interesting reading too, with 70 million users playing games, a 15 percent year-on-year jump from last year.

With more people playing mobile games their average spend has significantly increase as well. Mobile gaming took up 13 percent of all time spent on games worldwide (130 million hours a day), and 9 percent of total money spent on games ($5.8 billion).

The research group attributes these impressive figures due to the uptake in in-game purchases of freemium titles.The report details that free-to-play games accounted for 90 percent of mobile spending in the US, and 79 percent in Europe.

The research firm also notes that the top five grossing games for both Europe and the U.S. last month were all free-to-play.

Newzoo added that developers who want to take advantage of this growth market should treat tablets and smartphones as different segements, as they fulfil very different consumer needs.

Tablets like the iPad, for example, are seen a floating screen that can replace TVs or computer screens, while iPhones are more personal devices.

The firm says that of the 100 million American mobile gamers, 69 percent play on a smartphone, 21 percent on a tablet, and 18 percent on an iPod Touch. In Europe, 69 percent also play on a smartphone, 16 percent on a tablet, and 11 percent on an iPod Touch.

Clearly mobile gaming is seeing massive growth and in turn pulling people away from traditional conole-based games to more social, mobile experiences.

All this week have we been reporting about the huge success that Draw Something, Angry Birds and Temple Run have had in the mobile space and clearly this bubble is far from being burst just yet.

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